"AN ARGUMENT FOR SOMETHING ELSE": CORRECTIVE ART HISTORY RIGHT NOW

Breaking the Glass Case | Alexandra Forand

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This summer the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) presented “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artist.” Believe it or not, this exhibit was the first major showcase of indigenous women (I am intentionally using small "I" indigenous, because the artists range in location and community). The exhibit features 115 objects, that span 1,000 years including paintings, sculptures, textiles and more.

This exhibit took my Facebook and Twitter feed by storm. Every time I logged into a social network platform to mindlessly scroll through articles and memes for a couple minutes I would see friends and acquittances posting pictures, think pieces authored by magazines like Vogue, and scholarly articles mentioning this exhibit. Words, like “ground-breaking,” “awe-inspiring,” and “revolutionary,” were often affixed to posts about this exhibit. But it was one term discussing Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artist, that really caught my eye. This term was “Corrective Art History.” 

On now through August 18, the @artsmia is presenting “Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists,” the first major showcase to provide visibility to the indigenous women, both from Canada and the U.S. https://t.co/PC8kdfFj7l

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) June 3, 2019

We’ll be going to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see the Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists exhibit today.

Native community members get free admission to the exhibit!!

— YourFavRezCouple (@UrFavRezCouple) July 5, 2019

(1/2) Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, is hands down one of the best shows ever. If you’re even near Mpls pls go see! #mia #minneapolisinstituteofart #heartsofourpeople #nativeamericanartists #nativeamericanwomen #womenartists #itsabouttime #equality #equalityinthearts pic.twitter.com/KprcEwGWJc

— Ann Tracy (Áine Ní Threasaigh) (@anntracyart) June 18, 2019

Let’s back up for a moment. What is Corrective Art History? Corrective Art History is meant “to provide an affirmation for those who do not regularly see themselves portrayed in media or art.” Moreover, it is an effort to combat the lasting, damaging impacts of underrepresentation.

This term is often used to describe Kerry James Marshall’s work, who is both redefining the Western cannon and creating his own. He explains it better than I ever could: “My work is not an argument against anything; it is an argument for something else.”

Kerry James Marshall, Mastry, source.

Mickalene Thomas is another notable artists who could described as working within Corrective Art History. Thomas vividly and actively inserts black female bodies into art, a place she argues is traditionally white and patriarchal. Furthermore, there are many Indigenous artists who work within Corrective Art History. Arguably one of the most well-known artists working within this realm is Kent Monkman (Cree). Monkman’s Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, is an epic revision of a Western colonial history that is still taught in schools today. If you want to learn about Shame and Prejudice, Sadie Macdonald wrote an exhibition review and you can click here to read it!

Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artist, is not the only Indigenous led exhibition which operates within Corrective Art History. More and more exhibitions are gaining attention in a post-TRC world. In the Spring of this year, an exhibition on the Poundmaker Cree Nation focused on the story of Chief Poundmaker, who was arrested after the colonial government of Canada failed to honour treaty promises. After six months, Chief Poundmaker was released from prison after contracting a fatal respiratory disease. For nearly 135 years the Western cannon wrote Chief Poundmaker as the villain of his story. The exhibition successfully sets the historical record straight and brings in First Nation voices to the Western cannon. While the state of Canada exonerated Chief Poundmaker on May 23, 2019, this exhibit shows that everyone from artists, researchers, and curators to ordinary everyday people can work against these harmful historical inaccuracies.

Chief Poundmaker,  Source. 

The exercise of Corrective Art History is important and necessary. As museum professionals we need to become uncomfortable with our own learned knowledge and let these exhibitions and art rewire our own inherent biases of history. We, like Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas, Kent Monkman, and the indigenous run exhibits, have to argue for something else.

Have you seen any of these exhibitons? What challenged you and how did you deal with these challenges? What are your thoughts? I really want to know! Leave a comment, send me an email (allyforand@gmail.com), or if Twitter and Instagram are more your speed my handle on both is @Ally_but_online.